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Review of Religious Research

Review of Religious Research

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  • Description
  • Aims and Scope
  • Editorial Board
  • Abstracting / Indexing
  • Submission Guidelines

Aims & Scope:

The Review of Religious Research (RRR) journal aims to publish manuscripts meeting these six scope criteria: (1) reports empirical research; (2) attends to religiosity and spirituality topics; (3) identifies religious groups and their adherents; (4) engages in interdisciplinary social science research practices; (5) describes methods and analytical techniques; and (6) applies research with relevance for practitioners. Criteria are described below.

Empirical Research

Manuscripts meet the empirical social science research scope criteria by reporting on observable behaviors, actions, orientations, and more of social groups. The goal is to understand and analyze rather than seeking to propagate a religion, proselytize, evangelize, or in other ways directly represent a religious view. Valuing the goal of replicability and peer review, empirical research typically includes a methods section that explains how data were collected, why, using what procedures, under which conditions, and toward what types of analysis.

Relevant Topics – Scroll below for an expanded list of specific topics.For a full list of topics please click here .

  • Religious leaders, services, programs, participation, practices, beliefs, organizations, changes, movements
  • Religion & civics, family, gender, sex, race, youth, education, science, poverty, crime, attitudes, wellbeing
  • Spirituality, spiritual practices, spiritual communities

Applied Practitioners

The journal is particularly interested in publishing applied research with implications for:

  • Clergy, pastoral leaders, lay leaders, other religious leaders
  • Professionals, staff, volunteers in faith-based organizations, NGOs, INGOS, international networks
  • Grantmakers, funders, grant program officers
  • Fundraisers, major gifts officers, donor prospect researchers
  • Volunteer coordinators, social movement community engagers
  • Service providers, program delivery coordinators

Religious Groups

1. Islam, Muslims

2. Buddhism, Buddhists

3. Hinduism, Hindus

4. Judaism, Jewish

5. Confucianism, Confucians

6. Sikhism, Sikhists

7. Daoism, Taoism, Daoist, Taoists

8. Catholicism, Catholics

9. Christianity, Christians

10. Protestantism, Protestants

11. Evangelicalism, Evangelicals

12. Mainline Protestantism, Protestants

13. Pentecostalism, Pentecostals

14. Orthodoxy: Eastern, Catholic, Judaism, Christianity

15. Folk religions: Chinese, African; Ethnoreligious

16. Spiritism, Spiritists

17. Bahá'í, Bahaism, Bahá'ís

18. Jainism, Jainists

19. Shintoism, Shintoists

20. Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrians

21. New religions, new religious movements

22. Atheism, Agnosticism, Atheists, Agnostics

23. Religious unaffiliated, disaffiliated, non-affiliated, or religious “nones”

Interdisciplinar

Valuing multiple approaches in the empirical study of religion, the journal typically publishes research from disciplines such as: sociology, psychology, social psychology, political science, economics.

Methods & Analysis

2. In-depth interviews

3. Ethnographies

4. Case studies

5. Quantitative analysis

6. Qualitative analysis

7. Content analysis

8. Mixed methods analysis

  • Clarivate Analytics: Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)

Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Review of Religious Research

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics .

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rrr to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

Sage Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Review of Religious Research will be reviewed.

Publication fees

The submitted manuscript will be initially screened to see if it suitable for publication in the Review of Religious Research . The corresponding author will be contacted about the manuscript’s suitability.

If the manuscript is found to be suitable, a modest processing fee must be paid before the manuscript can be processed further, unless one of the authors is a member of the Religious Research Association (RRA). The processing fee includes a 1-year annual membership in the RRA.

By submitting the manuscript, the authors agree to pay the processing fee.

To pay the submission fee and become a member, visit the RRA website .

Also see section 5.2 below, Information Required for Submitting your Manuscript.

Originality

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Review of Religious Research will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the Journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the Journal's author archiving policy.

If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal .

  • What do we publish? 1.1 Aims & Scope 1.2 Article types 1.3 Writing your paper
  • Editorial policies 2.1 Peer review policy 2.2 Authorship 2.3 Acknowledgements 2.4 Funding 2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests 2.6 Research ethics and patient consent 2.7 Reporting guidelines 2.8 Research data
  • Publishing policies 3.1 Publication ethics 3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement 3.3 Open access and author archiving
  • Preparing your manuscript 4.1 Formatting 4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics 4.3 Identifiable information 4.4 Supplemental material 4.5 Reference style 4.6 English language editing services
  • Submitting your manuscript 5.1 ORCID 5.2 Information required for completing your submission 5.3 Permissions
  • On acceptance and publication 6.1 Sage Production 6.2 Online First publication 6.3 Access to your published article 6.4 Promoting your article
  • Further information 7.1 Appealing the publication decision

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to Review of Religious Research , please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope [ https://rraweb.org/journal-review-of-religious-research/aims-and-scope/] .

1.2 Article types

Original Research Articles

Original research articles present scholarly and methodologically rigorous empirical analysis. Sections: Introduction, Literature Review (typically labeled by topical headings), Data and Methods, Results, Discussion (including limitations, implications, conclusions). Before submitting a manuscript, authors should read the journal’s Aims & Scope for more information. Maximum 10,000 words, 40 double-spaced manuscript pages, including references.

Research Notes

Research notes are similar to original research articles in presenting scholarly and methodologically rigorous empirical analysis. Notes are briefer than articles and typically provide less theoretical framing and literature reviewing than articles. The focus is on the study design and results. Sections: Introduction, Data and Methods, Results, Discussion (including limitations). Maximum 7,500 words, 30 double-spaced pages, including references.

Review Articles

Review articles provide a comprehensive summary of relevant existing studies, including a synthesis of their relevant theory, methods, and findings on topic(s) of interest to the journal (see Aims & Scope). Sections: Introduction, Background, Data and Methods (describe sources, inclusion and exclusion criteria), Results, Discussion (limitations, implications, conclusions). Maximum 10,000 words, 40 double-spaced pages, including references.

Applied Research Abstracts

Applied research abstracts briefly present the results of an applied study. Sections: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Implications. Applied abstracts are 350-550 words and should include a footnote explaining to readers how to access the report, data, or additional information on the study.

Contexts of Religious Research

Contexts include award announcements, memoriams, commentaries about the process of conducting research (e.g., applications of research methods to topics relevant to the journal), profiles of denominational research organizations, or invited addresses from the Religious Research Association. It is rare that a manuscript of this type would be unsolicited; authors should consult the editor before submitting this type of manuscript. Max 1,000 words.

Book Reviews

Book reviews provide a summary of a scholarly book that identifies the purpose and central themes, highlights important claims or contributions, and offers critical evaluation of thetheories, methods, approach, or limitations (about 800 words). If you would like to review a book for the journal, contact the Book Review Editor, David Eagle, PhD [email protected]

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on  how to get published , plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online .

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Review of Religious Research is a refereed journal with an anonymized peer review policy.

Review of Religious Research adheres to an anonymized peer review process in which the reviewer’s name is routinely withheld from the author unless the reviewer requests a preference for their identity to be revealed.

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

  • The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.
  • The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.
  • The author has recommended the reviewer.
  • The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

2.2 Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

          Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools .

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Per ICMJE recommendations , it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.

2.3.1 Third party submissions Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

  • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
  • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
  • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Review of Religious Research requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

Review of Religious Research encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway .

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals , and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants .

2.7 Reporting guidelines

The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.

Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives .

2.8 Research data

The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages .

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

  • Share your research data in a relevant public data repository
  • Include a data availability statement. This should:
  • Indicate if data is available and shared
  • In certain cases, indicate if research data is available but not shared, and why. For example, if the data are drawn from qualitative, in-depth interviews that cannot be de-identified, please provide this explanation in the data availability statement. Or, if the data are available upon request, please describe this in the data availability statement.
  • Cite data in your research

3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway .

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Review of Religious Research and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway .

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Review of Religious Research offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage . For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access . For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies .

4. Preparing your manuscript

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines .

4.3 Identifiable information

Where a journal uses double-anonymised peer review, authors are required to submit:

  • A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymized. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
  • A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymised material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.

See https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/Manuscript-preparation-for-double-anonymized-journal for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission.

Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.4 Supplemental material

This Journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files .

4.5 Reference style

Review of Religious Research adheres to the ASA Style Guide. View the guide here to ensure your manuscript conforms to this style.

If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the ASA output file . If you use Zotero to manage references, you can download the ASA Style Repository .

4.6 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the Journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

5. Submitting your manuscript

Review of Religious Research is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rrr to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT : Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the Journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help .

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID . ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

We encourage all authors and co-authors to link their ORCIDs to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. We collect ORCID IDs during the manuscript submission process and your ORCID ID then becomes part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

Cover Letter

The Cover Letter must contain the following information (No other information should be included in the letter.):

(1) A statement confirming that all the authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agreed to submit it to Review of Religious Research . (Do not submit your manuscript unless this is true.)

(2) A statement confirming that the manuscript has not been published previously and that it is not currently being reviewed for publication by another journal. (Do not submit your manuscript unless this is true.)

(3) A statement explaining how the manuscript fits into one or more of the topical areas listed in the journal’s Aims & Scope. This statement should also briefly identify at least one of the empirical research methods and analysis listed in the Aims & Scope, or specify an additional empirical method or analysis that is not listed.

(4) The full name, institution, and email address of at least one author of the manuscript who is currently a member of the Religious Research Association, OR; A statement acknowledging the authors agree to pay the fee for the manuscript to be peer-reviewed (if it is initially assessed to be potentially suitable for publication), if no author of the manuscript is a member of the Religious Research Association. See the Fee section below for more details. The waiver of the fee only applies to manuscripts that are authored or co-authored by a member of the Religious Research Association. The fee will not be waived for any other reason.

Sample Letter 1

Dear Editor:

All the authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agreed to submit it to Review of Religious Research . The manuscript has not been published previously, and it is not currently being reviewed for publication by another journal.

The authors think the manuscript fits within the topical areas of Religious Leaders and Religion & Civics because it investigates the ways that people in faith-based organizations draw upon religious language in volunteer recruitment efforts. This is an empirical research study that utilized surveys to collect data for the quantitative analysis and in-depth interviews to inform the qualitative analysis.

[Name of Corresponding Author] of the [Affiliated University or Organization] ( [email protected] ) is the corresponding author of the manuscript and a current member of the Religious Research Association.

[Name of Corresponding Author]

Sample Letter 2

The authors think the manuscript fits within the topic area of Religious Beliefs because it reviews how scholars attend to Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religious texts in published research. Although the manuscript does not appear to fit into any of the methods listed in the Aims & Scope, the authors think the manuscript is consistent with the Aims & Scope because the study employs bibliometric techniques to inform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing publications.

As none of the authors currently belong to the Religious Research Association, [Name of Corresponding Author] agrees to pay the fee for the manuscript to be peer-reviewed if it is initially assessed to be potentially suitable for publication via the Religious Research Association website (payment will be confirmed with the RRA before proceeding with peer review).

Affiliations

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

The title page should include:

  • The name(s) of the author(s)
  • A concise and informative title
  • The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e. institution, (department), city, (state), country
  • A clear indication and an active e-mail address of the corresponding author
  • If available, the 16-digit ORCID of the author(s)
  • If address information is provided with the affiliation(s) it will also be published.
  • For authors that are (temporarily) unaffiliated we will only capture their city and country of residence, not their e-mail address unless specifically requested.

Abstract  (150-200 words)

Abstracts should further describe the contents of the manuscript. Begin the abstract by stating the central purpose or aim of the paper. Next, describe the objective and approach of this particular study. The majority of the abstract should summarize the methodological design. Name whether the data were collected through a survey, interview, experiment, ethnography, or other mode. Provide an overview of the sample size and characteristics. It is common to use the notation n=x to indicate the sample (n) equals size (x). Specify that the analysis techniques were quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, or some other type. Briefly state the primary results. Interpret the contributions for theory, research, and/or practice. The readership of RRR is particularly interested in applications for practice, especially for the practitioner sets in the  Aims & Scope .

Please also clearly identify in the abstract the religious group(s) that was studied, the relevant topic(s) from the journal Aims & Scope, and the country(ies) in which the data were collected. If relevant, please indicate for which set(s) of applied practitioners the study has implications.

Please provide 4 to 6 keywords which can be used for indexing purposes. At least one of the keywords must be selected from the topics list in the Aims & Scope.

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway .

6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Review of Religious Research editorial office as follows:

Patricia Snell Herzog, PhD [email protected]

7.1 Appealing the publication decision

Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at [email protected] .

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  • Psychol Res Behav Manag

Influence of religious aspects and personal beliefs on psychological behavior: focus on anxiety disorders

Agorastos agorastos.

1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Cüneyt Demiralay

Christian g huber.

2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

The current paper presents literature relevant to the relationship of religiosity, spirituality, and personal beliefs with mental health and, in particular, anxiety disorders as an empirical narrative review, providing an overview on the most important and clinically relevant research results on the topic. The relationship between religiosity/spirituality, personal beliefs (ie, magical ideation and paranormal beliefs), and mental health has lately been studied extensively, and results have indicated significant associations among these variables. However, scientific approaches to this field are complex and multidimensional, partly leading to poor operationalization, incomparable data, and contradictory results. Literature demonstrates that higher religiosity/spirituality and magical ideation scores have often been associated with increased obsessive–compulsive traits. Similar results could not be confidently replicated for other anxiety disorders. However, it is still unclear if these differences suggest a specific association with obsessive–compulsive traits and reflect deviating etiopathogenetic and cognitive aspects between obsessive–compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders, or if these results are biased through other factors. Religiosity/spirituality and personal beliefs constitute important parameters of human experience and deserve greater consideration in the psychotherapeutic treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Introduction

The relationship between religious and personal beliefs and mental health has been studied extensively, indicating considerable correlations among these variables. 1 However, scientific approaches to this field are complex and multidimensional. With respect to anxiety disorders, the empirical evidence is scarce and warranting of further research. The current review discusses research findings on the relation of religiosity/spirituality (R/S), paranormal beliefs, and magical ideation to mental health and – in particular – anxiety disorders. Results on obsessive–compulsive disorders (OCD) and other anxiety disorders (excluding acute stress and post-traumatic stress disorder) are presented separately, in order to investigate possible etiopathogenetic and cognitive differences between both groups. The literature is presented as an empirical narrative review, providing an introduction of the topic, an overview on the most important and clinically relevant publications with respect to R/S, personal beliefs, and anxiety disorders and, finally, particular emphasis on the dimensional constructs of R/S and possible treatment options.

Religion, religiosity, and spirituality

Religion is a universal human pursuit, affecting many different cultural parameters, moral concepts, and ideals, and influencing human thinking and behavior by offering answers on the meaning of human existence. 2 Religion provides a comprehensive and sympathetic insight on the human orientation in the world and is an important element of human culture. The practice of dealing with the sacred sphere through ritual or nonritual cults, the interpretation of everyday and special experiences, the concordance with social norms, the contact with aesthetic and artistic expressions and symbols, as well as many other life domains, are all comparably embedded in this individual and complex system. 3 – 5

On the other hand, religiosity as a term reflects various aspects of religious beliefs and activities in a person’s life. In the literature, intrinsic religiosity is commonly distinguished from extrinsic religiosity. 6 , 7 Intrinsic religiosity implies the internalization of the religions’ teachings and the finding of personal master motives in religion, whereas extrinsic religiosity reflects more instrumental and utilitarian aspects of religion, providing security and solace, sociability and distraction, status, and self-justification. 6 , 7 During previous years, an additional emphasis has been given to spirituality, as an entity different and independent from religiosity. Spirituality is suggested to be a transcultural and transreligious parameter of human experience constituting a complex, idiographic, and multidimensional construct, not closely associated to a particular belief system, church, or cult. 8

Personal beliefs: paranormal and magical ideation

Apart from R/S, paranormal and magical ideation are also associated with a person’s individual belief system. Paranormal beliefs relate to paranormal phenomena that violate basic limiting principles in science. 9 , 10 The term “magical ideation” refers to beliefs about causality, in which individuals believe they have some degree of control over events that defies currently accepted physical laws. 11 Many studies support a significant positive but complex correlation between religious and paranormal belief variables, where higher religious scores have been associated with stronger paranormal beliefs. 12 – 15 Yet, R/S, religious practices, and personal beliefs are not only important for culture and social life, but they also seem to play a significant role with respect to individual physical and mental health.

Religiosity/spirituality, physical health, and well-being

Many studies indicate that R/S and religious practices may have a persistent and significant positive influence on general physical health, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being. 1 , 16 – 20 This positive impact of R/S on human well-being becomes more obvious among people under stressful circumstances and physical illness. 21 , 22 R/S is therefore considered a major coping factor in difficult or stressful life circumstances. 18 , 23 Terminal illness, cardiovascular disease, cancer, pain, and immune and endocrine diseases are only some examples in which the importance of religious coping has been put forth in the literature. 1 For some individuals, religious faith may enhance the ability to cope with negative life events, whereas for others, negative life events may result in greater religious faith. 24

Religiosity/spirituality and mental health

For the last three decades, the relationship between R/S and mental health has been extensively studied, indicating significant associations among these variables. 1 , 25 R/S has been found to be inversely correlated with the prevalence of any mental disorder 26 – 30 and, in particular, to have a positive impact on depression, 27 , 31 , 32 suicidal thoughts and behavior, 33 , 34 and alcohol dependence and drug abuse. 30 , 35 – 37 Furthermore, it is suggested that R/S is not only a protective factor for mental health, but that it also may positively influence the treatment outcomes for some mental disorders. 31 , 38 , 39 However, research has also pointed out many contradictory results. 1 , 40 For example, higher intrinsic orientation has been found to be associated with reduced risk for depression, 27 , 32 yet it also has been correlated with higher risk for most psychiatric disorders in general 23 and for depression specifically. 41

The role of religious coping

Personal R/S beliefs are shown to be multidimensional, whereas several R/S aspects seem to have different and not always positive impact on mental health. 42 – 45 Accordingly, Kendler et al 43 reported that different R/S aspects show different relationships to particular externalizing mental disorders (substance dependencies and antisocial behavior) and internalizing mental disorders (major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, phobia, panic disorder, and bulimia nervosa), suggesting that different aspects of R/S can have both positive and negative influences on the individual.

Lately, research has suggested that with respect to mental health, the greatest importance seems not to lie on R/S beliefs in general, but rather on specific religious coping strategies. 23 Religious coping reflects the functional expressions of R/S in stressful situations. Positive religious coping is suggested to have a positive impact on mental health. In particular, higher worship frequency, 23 , 46 general religious involvement, 27 and prayer and scripture reading 32 , 47 have been shown to exert an overall positive effect and to be associated with better mental health. These effects could not be explained by possible meditative components of religious activity. 48 On the other hand, negative religious coping (ie, wondering whether God has abandoned someone or believing in a punishing, vengeful, or simply indifferent God), although less frequent than positive religious coping, has been repeatedly found in close association to negative psychological adjustment, 42 higher psychopathology scores, and worse mental health status and treatment outcomes. 44 , 45 , 49 – 54 However, although religious coping has been an increasing research focus over the last years, most studies have investigated the relationship of religious coping and depression. Only a few studies assess this parameter in association with anxiety, 51 , 55 and this research has mostly been conducted with hospitalized somatically ill patients. 56

Religiosity/spirituality and personal beliefs in anxiety disorders

Anxiety and anxiety disorders.

Anxiety is an agonizing basic human emotion of constriction, fear, and inner restlessness that appears physiologically in unfamiliar or threatening situations and is always accompanied by a physical stress reaction. 57 The person and the specific triggering situation (stressor) are important in determining levels of provoked anxiety. Trait anxiety reflects a stable tendency to respond with state anxiety in the anticipation of threatening situations. Thus, anxiety should be viewed as a dimensional construct, where personality variables as well as congruent stressors both are influencing the increase of the level of state anxiety. 58

Anxiety disorders are characterized by a longer-lasting, pathologically intensified, and unfounded emotion of anxiety, which palsies physical and mental functions and leads to avoidance behavior. Anxiety disorders are often associated with an underlying psychobiological dysfunction 59 , 60 and lead to clinically significant distress, becoming a major disability for the patient. Here, the anxiety response is not an expectable or culturally sanctioned response to a stressor and does not primarily result from a social deviance or conflicts with the society.

Although R/S and other personal beliefs, such as paranormal and magical ideation, have been repeatedly suggested as important factors in the expression and course of psychiatric disorders and coping with psychiatric disorders, relevant empirical evidence is still scarce, 1 warranting further research. Research findings on the relation of R/S, paranormal beliefs, and magical ideation to anxiety and OCD are presented below.

Religiosity/spirituality and anxiety

In comparison to other psychiatric disorders, there are only a few exploratory studies investigating the specific relation between R/S and anxiety. 61 Hereby, two main theories become apparent. The first one promotes the Freudian hypothesis that anxiety can arise through negative religious conflicts and that there is a positive relation between R/S and anxiety symptoms. 62 There are only a few studies that support this hypothesis, 63 while most of them indicate a specific positive correlation only between anxiety and extrinsic religiosity. 64 – 66 Two studies support also a positive relationship only between negative religious coping and anxiety symptoms. 54 , 67

The second thesis suggests religiosity is negatively associated with anxiety and buffers the effects of stress, leading to lowered distress 18 , 19 , 61 and even to better outcome in the treatment of anxiety disorders. 68 Results associating positive religious coping strategies (eg, particularly regular church attendance) with lower anxiety scores have been often replicated, 61 whereas other studies report results of lower anxiety levels among the more religious in samples of both healthy and medically ill subjects. 69 , 70

Nevertheless, many studies failed to find any significant correlation between anxiety and R/S. 54 , 71 – 75 Interestingly, Baker and Gorsuch 64 suggested a positive correlation of extrinsicness and a negative correlation of intrinsicness to trait anxiety. Accordingly, the proportion of extrinsic-oriented versus intrinsic-oriented subjects in a study could possibly affect its results.

Religiosity/spirituality and OCD

In contrast to other anxiety disorders, the specific relation of R/S and OCD has been investigated more thoroughly in the literature, as R/S has been considered to play some role in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder. The hypothesis of OCD as being to some extent an “ecclesiogenic” neurosis was postulated early in the literature. 76 Higgins et al 77 found that, indeed, the percentage of patients with reported religious conflicts was significantly higher in the OCD group than in other anxiety and nonanxiety control subjects.

Many researchers have come to the conclusion that there is a relation between R/S and some OCD traits. Especially, higher religiosity has been repeatedly found to be positively correlated with subclinical OCD symptoms and cognitions, 78 – 82 beliefs about overimportance of thoughts, 80 intolerance for uncertainty, 79 misinterpretation of the significance of thoughts, 83 , 84 control of thoughts, perfectionism, and responsibility, 81 poorer insight, and more perceptual distortions. 85 Higher religiosity has also been found to correlate positively with the presence of religious themes in obsessive thoughts and compulsive rituals, 86 even across different religions. 80 In addition, patients with religious obsessions and compulsions also display significantly higher religious scores 78 than patients without these kinds of obsessions. Such results make the conclusion that OCD may be fostered by higher religiosity (ie, by the overzealous wish for spiritual purity) very tempting. Interestingly, there is an overall high percentage of OCD patients with religious obsessions. 87 Many authors found that the possibility of a diagnosis of OCD by a clinician is higher when a patient describes himself as religiously active, suggesting tautological inferences in some cases. 88 , 89

On the other hand, there are also many studies suggesting only a minor or a missing relationship between R/S and OCD. 79 , 81 , 87 , 90 – 93 In marked contrast to the results mentioned above, a demographic study by Neziroglu et al 94 found more atheist/agnostic individuals amongst OCD patients compared to other disorders. Our recent study also showed no significant differences between OCD patients and healthy samples concerning most of the R/S subscales. 54 OCD patients showed higher scores of negative religious coping only.

Paranormal beliefs in anxiety and OCD

The role of paranormal beliefs in OCD and other anxiety disorders has hardly been investigated. The few available study results are similarly antithetic, with some studies suggesting an association between belief in the paranormal and lower anxiety/neuroticism, 95 – 97 and others reporting no significant 98 or even a negative correlation. 99

To our knowledge, the only study directly investigating and comparing differences in paranormal beliefs between healthy subjects, patients with anxiety disorders, and patients with OCD was conducted by our research group and found no differences in paranormal belief between OCD patients, anxiety patients, and healthy controls, no differences between healthy and nonhealthy subjects, and also no differences among the various anxiety subgroups. 54

Magical ideation in anxiety and OCD

Most exploratory studies investigating the specific relation of magical ideation and OCD have reported a positive correlation between magical ideation scores and OCD symptoms in clinical and nonclinical populations. 100 – 108 Magical ideation has generally been found to be positively related to obsessive–compulsive symptoms 103 and to many specific symptoms frequently found in OCD patients, 109 such as neutralizing behavior, 110 perceptual distortions, 85 and thought–action fusion. 110 In addition, OCD patients score higher in magical ideation scales than do healthy controls or patients with other anxiety disorders, 103 and magical ideation has been shown to predict negative outcome in OCD patients. 111 Interestingly, patients with religious obsessions and compulsions also display significantly higher magical ideation scores than do patients without these kinds of obsessions. 85

The relation between magical ideation and other anxiety disorders, on the other hand, has barely been investigated. There are only two studies found in the literature. In the first one, magical ideation scores did not differ significantly between OCD and generalized anxiety disorder, while the OCD group showed significantly higher scores than the healthy sample. 106 In the second study, panic-disorder patients reported significantly lower magical ideation scores compared to OCD patients. 104 Panic-disorder patients were found to score similarly to healthy control groups. 104

Our recent study showed no significant differences in magical ideation traits between OCD patients, patients with other anxiety disorders, and healthy controls. 54 We additionally suggested that the presence of four OCD-specific items in the original magical ideation scale questionnaire might result in higher magical ideation scores in OCD patients, as seen in other studies.

Despite many encouraging clinical results and experimental data, the specific relationship between R/S and anxiety disorders has received even less attention than has the relationship of R/S with other disorders. According to available study results, specific R/S traits and magical ideation were more often correlated to subclinical OCD traits in particular, but also to clinical OCD traits, than to measures of general anxiety or other specific anxiety disorders. However, it cannot be concluded that individuals with higher OCD traits are also more religious or vice versa, and it is still unclear if these differences suggest a true association to obsessive–compulsive traits only and reflect deviating etiopathogenetic and cognitive aspects between OCD and other anxiety disorders, or if these results are biased through other factors. For example, personality traits associated with both R/S and OCD, or OCD-specific items in used questionnaires, might influence the abovementioned findings and result in a virtually closer relationship between OCD and R/S traits.

In addition, most findings suggest negative religious coping as a factor that is closely associated with various forms of psychopathology in OCD and anxiety disorders. Yet, it remains unclear whether negative religious coping represents a common expression of a mentally ill condition at a symptomatic level or a common cognitive vulnerability factor, leading to negative psychological adjustment to stress 42 and therefore more frequently found among the symptomatic population. 112

Challenges in the assessment of R/S and personal beliefs

Despite the growing focus on the impact of R/S and personal beliefs on mental health in the last decades, the failure to incorporate a broader concept of religious and spiritual constructs in relevant research represents an important limiting factor. The lack of defined and generally accepted multidimensional measures of R/S has led to poor operationalization, unmatchable and incomparable data, and to contradictory results. 61 , 113 For example, a recent literature review listed more than 70 different psychometric instruments designed to assess spirituality and related constructs. 114 Most studies tend to dichotomize their results by using only a static religious variable and avoid multidimensional measures and quantified religious variables. Further limitations of the available literature include small sample sizes 61 and research lacking methodological sophistication. 115

The complexity of the field becomes clearer when considering many of the other factors that could potentially influence investigative parameters and R/S in particular. For example, age, sex, education, religious affiliation, and race show a strong relationship with R/S parameters. 115 For example, general and social religiosity are closely associated with female sex and older age, 27 , 41 , 43 suggesting that the age and sex distribution of study samples could have a significant impact on study results.

Influence of religion and culture

Anxiety disorders belong to the most common mental disorders, with an ubiquitous presence across all continents and cultures. Thereby, cross-cultural and cross-religious norm deviations, differences in psychopathology, and prominence of various symptoms are of particular importance. 116 , 117 In addition, cultural and religious effects are considered not only pathoplastic, but also pathogenetic, especially in anxiety disorders. 117 , 118

Anxiety symptoms, but also R/S experiences and beliefs, individually manifest at a cognitive, affective, physical and behavioral level. Cultural background can strongly influence the way of manifestation in all of these areas. Thus, anxiety core symptoms may and can appear differently across religions and cultures, often leading to potential bias. 118 The form and variety of anxiety symptoms related to religious themes is, thus, sometimes associated with certain cultures/religions. 119 This does not, however, indicate one religion as being more pathological than others, but rather the religious symptoms as being an inseparable part of the specific culture and, thus, not pathological. 120 , 121 Studies in different religious contexts indicate similar results with respect to mental health. 121 There are actually only sparse and controversial findings indicating a certain religious affiliation being more prevalent among, for example, OCD patients than among others, 46 , 78 although religions with very strict rites and regulations should be considered separately. 122 To our knowledge, no study has investigated this topic with respect to other anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, R/S appears not to be a distinctive topic of OCD, but rather a precondition in the setting of religious patients. 82 , 123 , 124 Respectively, in a study by Siev et al, 90 thought–action fusion was shown to be a pathological marker only when such beliefs were not culturally normative.

On the other hand, specific religious affiliation might have a direct negative influence on mental health when is it the reason for discrimination, as for example among migrants. 117 , 125

Cognitive aspects of belief and psychotherapy

It has been recently suggested that among religious parameters, the individual cognitive aspects of religion, but not the organizational ones, show the greatest effect. 16 , 19 This becomes even more important when considering that religious and spiritual themes could also have an impact on the psychotherapeutic treatment and outcome of psychiatric disorders in general and of OCD and anxiety disorders in particular. 117 , 118 There have been studies that show the importance of personal and spiritual beliefs in the individual psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment. 126 – 128 In a study by Shafranske and Malony, 129 more than 60% of the patients expressed themselves through religious language. In accordance with this finding, religious psychotherapy for religious subjects has been proven to be significantly more effective than standard psychotherapeutic treatment. 129 – 133 These effects were mediated through reduction of religious and spiritual distress, which is particularly desirable in the treatment of depression and anxiety. 134 Similarly, the emotional support in a religious/spiritual group has been proven to be so effective that it is also used as a major therapeutic tool in many forms of counseling and psychotherapy. 130 , 131

These results suggest that religious patients may benefit more from a different form of psychotherapy that emphasizes better religious coping and that promotes positive and prevents negative religious coping and its cognitive manifestations. Over the course of the psychotherapeutic treatment, R/S-specific topics, values, and norms are often in the forefront, having a great influence on diagnosis, etiology, treatment concepts, and therapeutic goals. 1 R/S-sensitive psychotherapy might especially focus on the negative R/S cognitive assumptions (belief of being abandoned by God, etc) and give patients the opportunity to deal with their religious and spiritual struggles though an alternative kind of spiritual guidance. 128 Clinicians should, thus, strive to obtain skills in the understanding of different R/S aspects, whereby an attitude of religious openness could result in individualized therapeutic objectives and methods that are adjusted for personal beliefs. 1 , 121

Nevertheless, the “religiosity gap” between patients and therapists remains present, especially in some forms of psychotherapy, 135 and unheeded in scientific research, 130 – 132 emphasizing the need for additional religious-sensitive assessments in the research and treatment of mental disorders. 126

Although R/S and personal beliefs are complex and multidimensional parameters, relevant research has failed to incorporate a broader, generally accepted concept of religious and spiritual constructs, leading to poor operationalization and, thus, incomparable data and contradictory results. Nevertheless, religiosity, spirituality, and personal beliefs are important parameters of human experience and deserve greater consideration in the psychotherapeutic treatment of psychiatric disorders.

None of the authors received funding for this article. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review

Affiliation.

  • 1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. [email protected]
  • PMID: 19497160
  • DOI: 10.1177/070674370905400502

Religious and spiritual factors are increasingly being examined in psychiatric research. Religious beliefs and practices have long been linked to hysteria, neurosis, and psychotic delusions. However, recent studies have identified another side of religion that may serve as a psychological and social resource for coping with stress. After defining the terms religion and spirituality, this paper reviews research on the relation between religion and (or) spirituality, and mental health, focusing on depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, and substance abuse. The results of an earlier systematic review are discussed, and more recent studies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries are described. While religious beliefs and practices can represent powerful sources of comfort, hope, and meaning, they are often intricately entangled with neurotic and psychotic disorders, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether they are a resource or a liability.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Systematic Review
  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Alcoholism / psychology
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Mental Health*
  • Psychotic Disorders / psychology
  • Religion and Psychology*
  • Spirituality*
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
  • Suicide / psychology

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Key findings about religion in india.

Sikh devotees light candles at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, on June 25, 2021. (Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images)

India’s massive population is diverse as well as devout. Not only do most of the world’s Hindus, Jains and Sikhs live in India, but it also is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations and to millions of Christians and Buddhists.

A new Pew Research Center report , based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic – takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. Here are key findings from the report.

“Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation” is Pew Research Center’s most comprehensive, in-depth exploration of Indian public opinion to date. For this report, we completed 29,999 face-to-face interviews, in 17 languages, with adults ages 18 and older living in 26 Indian states and three union territories. The sample includes interviews with 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, 1,011 Christians, 719 Buddhists and 109 Jains. An additional 67 respondents belong to other religions or are religiously unaffiliated. Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

Respondents were selected using a probability-based sample design that would allow for robust analysis of all major religious groups in India as well as all major regional zones. Six groups were targeted for oversampling as part of the survey design: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and those living in the Northeast region. Data was weighted to account for the different probabilities of selection among respondents and to align with demographic benchmarks for the Indian adult population from the 2011 census.

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

Indians value religious tolerance, though they also live religiously segregated lives. Across the country, most people (84%) say that to be “truly Indian,” it is very important to respect all religions. Indians also are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community (80%). People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.

Indians feel they have religious freedom, see respecting all religions as a core value

But Indians’ commitment to tolerance is accompanied by a strong preference for keeping religious communities segregated. For example, Indians generally say they do not have much in common with members of other religious groups, and large majorities in the six major groups say their close friends come mainly or entirely from their own religious community. That’s true not only for 86% of India’s large Hindu population, but also for smaller groups such as Sikhs (80%) and Jains (72%).

Moreover, roughly two-thirds of Hindus say it is very important to stop Hindu women (67%) or Hindu men (65%) from marrying into other religious communities. Even larger shares of Muslims oppose interreligious marriage: 80% say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion, and 76% say it is very important to stop Muslim men from doing so.

For many Hindus, national identity, religion and language are closely connected. Nearly two-thirds of Hindus (64%) say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian. Among Hindus who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian, 80% also say it is very important to speak Hindi to be truly Indian.

Most Hindus in India say being Hindu, being able to speak Hindi are very important to be ‘truly’ Indian

Hindus who strongly link Hindu and Indian identities express a keen desire for religious segregation. For instance, 76% of Hindus who say being Hindu is very important to being truly Indian feel it is very important to stop Hindu women from marrying into another religion. By comparison, 52% of Hindus who place less importance on Hinduism’s role in Indian identity hold this view about religious intermarriage.

Moreover, Hindus in the Northern (69%) and Central (83%) parts of the country are much more likely than those in the South (42%) to strongly link Hindu identity with national identity. Together, the Northern and Central regions cover the country’s “Hindi belt,” where Hindi, one of dozens of languages spoken in India, is most prevalent. The vast majority of Hindus in these regions strongly link Indian identity with being able to speak Hindi.

Among Hindus, views of national identity go hand-in-hand with politics. Support for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is greater among Hindus who closely associate their religious identity and the Hindi language with being truly Indian. In the 2019 national elections, 60% of Hindu voters who think it is very important to be Hindu and to speak Hindi to be truly Indian cast their vote for the BJP, compared with 33% among Hindu voters who feel less strongly about both these aspects of national identity. These views also map onto regional support for the BJP, which tends to be much higher in the Northern and Central parts of the country than in the South.

Majority of Hindus say a person who eats beef cannot be a Hindu

Dietary laws are central to Indians’ religious identity. Hindus traditionally view cows as sacred, and laws on cow slaughter have recently been a flashpoint in India . Nearly three-quarters of Hindus (72%) in India say a person cannot be Hindu if they eat beef. That is larger than the shares of Hindus who say a person cannot be Hindu if they do not believe in God (49%) or never go to a temple (48%).

Similarly, three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is greater than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

Muslims in India support having access to their own religious courts

Muslims favor having access to their own religious courts. Since 1937, India’s Muslims have had the option of resolving family and inheritance-related cases in officially recognized Islamic courts, known as dar-ul-qaza. These courts are overseen by religious magistrates known as qazi and operate under Shariah principles, although their decisions are not legally binding .

Whether or not Muslims should be allowed to go to their own religious courts remains a hotly debated topic . The survey finds that three-quarters of Muslims (74%) support having access to the existing system of Islamic courts, but followers of other religions are far less likely to support Muslim access to this separate court system.

More Muslims than Hindus in India see partition of the subcontinent as a bad thing for communal relations

Muslims are more likely than Hindus to say the 1947 partition establishing the separate states of India and Pakistan harmed Hindu-Muslim relations. More than seven decades after the Indian subcontinent was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule, the predominant view among Indian Muslims is that the partition of the subcontinent was a bad thing for Hindu-Muslim relations (48%). Only three-in-ten Muslims say it was a good thing.

Hindus, however, lean in the opposite direction: 43% of Hindus say Partition was beneficial for Hindu-Muslim relations, while 37% say it was harmful. Sikhs, whose historical homeland of Punjab was split by Partition, are even more likely than Muslims to say the event was bad for Hindu-Muslim relations: Two-thirds of Sikhs (66%) take this position.

Most Indians say it is very important to stop people from marrying outside their caste

India’s caste system, an ancient social hierarchy with origins in Hindu writings , continues to fracture society. Regardless of whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain, Indians nearly universally identify with a caste. Members of lower caste groups historically have faced discrimination and unequal economic opportunities , but the survey finds that most people – including most members of lower castes – say there is not a lot of caste discrimination in India. The Indian Constitution prohibits caste-based discrimination, including untouchability, and in recent decades the government has enacted economic advancement policies like reserved seats in universities and government jobs for members of some lower-caste communities.

Still, a large majority of Indians overall (70%) say that most or all of their close friends share their caste. Much as they object to interreligious marriages, a large share of Indians (64%) say it is very important to stop women in their community from marrying into other castes, and about the same share (62%) say it is very important to stop men in their community from marrying into other castes. These figures vary only modestly across different castes.

Religious conversion is rare in India; to the extent that it is occurring, Hindus gain as many people as they lose. Conversion of people belonging to lower castes away from Hinduism to other religions, especially Christianity, has been contentious in India , and some states have laws against proselytism . This survey, though, finds that religious switching has a minimal impact on the size of religious groups. Across India, 98% of survey respondents give the same answer when asked to identify their current religion and, separately, their childhood religion.

Hindus gain as many people as they lose through religious switching

An overall pattern of stability in the share of religious groups is accompanied by little net change from movement into, or out of, most religious groups. Among Hindus, for instance, any conversion out of the group is matched by conversion into the group: 0.7% of respondents say they were raised Hindu but now identify as something else, and roughly the same share (0.8%) say they were not raised Hindu but now identify as Hindu. For Christians, however, there are some net gains from conversion: 0.4% of survey respondents are former Hindus who now identify as Christian, while 0.1% were raised Christian but have since left Christianity.

Most Indians believe in God and say religion is very important in their lives. Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists. The main exception is Buddhists, one-third of whom say they do not believe in God. (Belief in God is not central to Buddhist teachings .)

Indians do not always agree about the nature of God: Most Hindus say there is one God with many manifestations, while Muslims and Christians are more likely to say, simply, “there is only one God.” But across all major faiths, the vast majority of Indians say that religion is very important in their lives, and significant portions of each religious group also pray daily and observe a range of other religious rituals.

One-third of Indian Buddhists do not believe in God

India’s religious groups share several religious practices and beliefs. After living side by side for generations, India’s minority groups often engage in practices or hold beliefs that are more closely associated with Hindu traditions than with their own. For instance, many Sikh (29%), Christian (22%) and Muslim (18%) women in India say they wear a bindi – the forehead marking often worn by married women – even though the bindi has Hindu origins. Meanwhile, Muslims in India are just as likely as Hindus to say they believe in karma (77% each), as do 54% of Indian Christians.

Some members of the majority Hindu community celebrate Muslim and Christian festivals: 7% of Indian Hindus say they celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid, and 17% celebrate Christmas.

Some religious beliefs and practices shared across religious groups in India

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

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In U.S., familiarity with religious groups is associated with warmer feelings toward them

In eu, there’s an east-west divide over religious minorities, gay marriage, national identity, most in former yugoslavia favor multicultural society, although some tensions remain, americans express increasingly warm feelings toward religious groups, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Philosophy of Religion Research Paper Topics

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This page provides a comprehensive list of philosophy of religion research paper topics , delving into the nuanced relationship between philosophical inquiry and religious beliefs. Students and researchers will find insights into the profound connections and debates that have shaped both religious and philosophical traditions throughout history. Additionally, with the guidance and expertise of iResearchNet, learners can embark on a detailed exploration of these themes, promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of the myriad ways in which philosophy and religion intersect and influence each other.

100 Philosophy of Religion Research Paper Topics

In the vast panorama of human inquiry, the philosophy of religion holds a unique and seminal place. It sits at the crossroads of existential questioning and spiritual exploration, offering a deep reservoir of topics for those seeking to delve into the nature of divinity, humanity, and the universe. Choosing the right philosophy of religion research paper topics is essential, not only for academic achievements but also for personal growth, critical understanding, and fostering inter-religious dialogue in a globalized world.

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  • Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and their philosophical underpinnings.
  • Greek philosophy: From polytheism to monotheism.
  • The merging of Roman political ideology with Christianity.
  • Medieval scholasticism and the fusion of reason with faith.
  • The Enlightenment and the challenge to religious orthodoxy.
  • Romanticism’s spiritual revival against materialism.
  • Eastern philosophy: From Vedanta to Zen Buddhism.
  • Abrahamic faiths: Philosophical interpretations of monotheism.
  • Indigenous religious beliefs and their philosophical depth.
  • The modern-day revival of ancient pagan philosophies.
  • The monotheistic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
  • Dharmic paths: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
  • Philosophical Taoism versus religious Taoism.
  • Confucianism’s moral ethics and its societal impact.
  • Shamanism and animism: Connecting with the natural world.
  • Zoroastrianism and its influence on Western monotheism.
  • The Baha’i faith and its universalist approach.
  • The indigenous spiritual traditions of Africa.
  • Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime philosophy.
  • The Raelian movement and other modern religious philosophies.
  • Cosmology: Creation myths versus the Big Bang theory.
  • Evolutionary theory and religious interpretations of human origin.
  • Quantum mechanics: Where science meets mysticism.
  • Neuroscience, consciousness, and the soul.
  • Artificial intelligence, robotics, and theological implications.
  • Environmentalism as a religious and scientific imperative.
  • The moral considerations of genetic engineering.
  • Medical ethics: Euthanasia, abortion, and religious perspectives.
  • Extraterrestrial life: Religious implications of discovering “others”.
  • The fine-tuning argument and the existence of a Creator.
  • Kierkegaard’s leap of faith and existential Christianity.
  • Nietzsche’s proclamation: “God is dead.”
  • Camus, the Absurd, and the quest for meaning without divinity.
  • Sartre’s atheistic existentialism and the essence of humanity.
  • Heidegger’s “Being” and religious interpretations.
  • Dostoevsky’s exploration of faith in The Brothers Karamazov .
  • Kafka and the religious undertones of alienation.
  • Religious overtones in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot .
  • The existential search for authenticity and religious identity.
  • Tillich’s concept of the “God above God.”
  • The religious roots of morality: Is God necessary for ethics?
  • Comparing the moral codes of world religions.
  • Just war theory in Christianity and Islam.
  • Buddhist ethics: The Middle Path and compassion.
  • The challenge of religious extremism and its ethical ramifications.
  • Religious perspectives on capital punishment.
  • Vegetarianism and non-violence in Jainism and Hinduism.
  • Charity, almsgiving, and social justice in religious traditions.
  • The problem of evil: Theodicy across religions.
  • Asceticism and its ethical implications in different religious paths.
  • Revisiting Eve: Feminist readings of religious origin stories.
  • Goddess worship and matriarchal traditions.
  • The role of women in organized religious hierarchies.
  • Mary Daly and the concept of a post-Christian feminism.
  • Islamic feminism: Reinterpreting the Quran.
  • Feminist critiques of Buddhist monasticism.
  • Ecofeminism and the sacred feminine.
  • Women mystics in the Christian tradition.
  • Feminine symbolism in Kabbalistic teachings.
  • Liberation theology’s focus on women’s rights.
  • Theocracy versus secularism: Philosophical implications.
  • Render unto Caesar: Christianity’s evolving stance on state power.
  • Islamic governance: From Caliphates to modern nation-states.
  • Confucianism and its influence on Chinese statecraft.
  • Religion’s role in the American political landscape.
  • Hindu nationalism in contemporary India.
  • The Dalai Lama and Tibetan theocratic governance.
  • Secularism, laïcité, and European politics.
  • Liberation theology and Marxist movements in Latin America.
  • The rise and impact of political Zionism.
  • The nature and experience of mystical states across religions.
  • Sufism: The mystical heart of Islam.
  • Christian mystics: From St. John of the Cross to Meister Eckhart.
  • Kabbalah: Jewish esoteric traditions and their universal messages.
  • Advaita Vedanta and the non-dual reality.
  • Zen Buddhism: Satori and sudden enlightenment.
  • Gnostic traditions and the search for hidden knowledge.
  • Native American vision quests and transcendental experiences.
  • The role of psychedelics in religious and mystical experiences.
  • Modern scientific interpretations of mystical experiences.
  • The cross in Christianity: Interpretations and symbolism.
  • The significance of the Kaaba in Islam.
  • Sacred geometry and religious symbolism.
  • Myths of creation and apocalypse across traditions.
  • Rituals of passage: Birth, adulthood, marriage, and death.
  • The ritual use of music and dance in spiritual practices.
  • Sacred texts: Their role and interpretation in religious traditions.
  • Pilgrimage: Seeking the divine in sacred spaces.
  • Religious festivals and their philosophical meanings.
  • Carl Jung’s interpretation of religious symbols.
  • The Future of Religion: Postmodern and Contemporary Views
  • The rise of secularism and the “nones.”
  • Interfaith dialogue in a globalized world.
  • Postmodern critiques of organized religion.
  • Spirituality versus organized religion in the modern age.
  • Neo-paganism and the revival of ancient religious practices.
  • The intersection of technology and spirituality.
  • Transhumanism and its challenge to traditional religious beliefs.
  • New religious movements in the digital age.
  • The role of meditation and mindfulness in contemporary spirituality.
  • The prospects of universalist religious philosophies.

The tapestry of philosophy of religion research paper topics is both diverse and profound, offering myriad avenues for exploration. It represents an ever-evolving dialogue between human beings and the mysteries of existence, pushing us to question, reflect, and understand more deeply. We encourage scholars, students, and curious minds to immerse themselves in these topics, fostering both academic excellence and a richer understanding of the multifaceted nature of human belief.

The Range of Philosophy of Religion Research Paper Topics

Introduction

Religion has always played a pivotal role in the lives of humans, influencing cultures, politics, and personal choices. However, it is the philosophy of religion that critically assesses and shapes religious thought and practices. Like a mirror, it allows adherents and scholars to reflect upon the core tenets, beliefs, and implications of religious traditions.

Expansive Nature of Topics in Philosophy of Religion

The philosophy of religion offers a vast expanse of topics, each probing deep into the questions of existence, deity, morality, and human purpose. From the age-old debate on the existence of God and the problem of evil to the ethical implications of religious doctrines and the feminist interpretations in religious philosophies, the terrain is broad and deep. It’s not just about understanding individual religions, but about grappling with questions that transcend individual beliefs: How does religion intersect with science or politics? What is the nature of the divine? How do symbols, myths, and rituals anchor the human understanding of the cosmos?

Evolution of Religious Philosophies Through Time

Historically, religious philosophies have evolved in tandem with the socio-cultural and scientific developments of their times. Ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the groundwork for many discussions about the divine, ethics, and the nature of the good life. Their dialogues and debates shaped much of early Christian philosophy and continue to be pivotal in theological seminaries and philosophy departments.

Centuries later, during the medieval period, scholars like Thomas Aquinas and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) would further refine and challenge classical views, synthesizing them with the revelations of the Abrahamic faiths. The Renaissance and Enlightenment periods ushered in a new wave of skepticism and humanism, leading to modern and postmodern critiques and defenses of religious beliefs.

Each era has brought with it fresh perspectives, challenges, and revisions to religious philosophies, demonstrating the dynamic nature of this field.

How Global Religious Systems Have Been Shaped by Philosophical Ideas

The global religious landscape has been immensely influenced by philosophical postulations. Take, for instance, the Buddhist doctrine of anatta or non-self, a profound philosophical stance that challenges the very notion of persistent identity. This idea shapes not just individual meditation practices but also how societies understand the self and its relationship to the world.

Similarly, the Islamic concept of Tawhid, the oneness of God, is not just a theological assertion but a philosophical stance on the nature of reality, affecting everything from art (like the avoidance of depicting living beings in many Islamic art forms) to ethics and law.

In the West, Christian notions of love, redemption, and Trinity have been the subject of philosophical scrutiny and interpretation, influencing everything from art and literature to politics and social structures.

Even secularism, often seen in opposition to religious belief, has its roots in philosophical discussions about the nature of belief, the state, and individual rights.

Importance of Philosophy of Religion Research Paper Topics

Diving into philosophy of religion research paper topics is more than just an academic exercise; it’s a journey into the deepest questions of human existence. For students and scholars, these topics offer a chance to engage with these questions in a structured, critical manner.

Such research fosters critical thinking, a deeper appreciation for the diversity and richness of global religious traditions, and an understanding of the profound ways in which religious beliefs shape, and are shaped by, the broader cultural and philosophical milieu. Furthermore, by engaging deeply with these topics, students can also explore their beliefs, confront doubts, and refine their understanding of their religious traditions or the traditions of others.

The philosophy of religion research paper topics remains as relevant today as they were in the times of ancient philosophers. In an increasingly globalized world, where religious beliefs often intersect, clash, and coalesce, understanding the philosophy of religion becomes paramount. Whether one is a believer, agnostic, or atheist, delving into these topics offers a richer understanding of the human quest for meaning, purpose, and connection. Through these explorations, we not only understand religions better but also the very essence of humanity’s perennial questions about existence, morality, and the divine.

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215 Religion Research Paper Topics for College Students

religion research paper topics

Studying religion at a college or a university may be a challenging course for any student. This isn’t because religion is always a sensitive issue in society, it is because the study of religion is broad, and crafting religious topics for research papers around them may be further complex for students. This is why sociology of religion research topics and many others are here, all for your use. As students of a university or a college, it is essential to prepare religious topics for research papers in advance. There are many research paper topics on religion, and this is why the scope of religion remains consistently broad. They extend to the sociology of religion, research paper topics on society, argumentative essay topics, and lots more. All these will be examined in this article. Rather than comb through your books in search of inspiration for your next essay or research paper, you can easily choose a topic for your religious essay or paper from the following recommendations:

World Religion Research Paper Topics

If you want to broaden your scope as a university student to topics across religions of the world, there are religion discussion topics to consider. These topics are not just for discussion in classes, you can craft research around them. Consider:

  • The role of myths in shaping the world: Greek myths and their influence on the evolution of European religions
  • Modern History: The attitude of modern Europe on the history of their religion
  • The connection between religion and science in the medieval and modern world
  • The mystery in the books of Dan Brown is nothing but fiction: discuss how mystery shapes religious beliefs
  • Theocracy: an examination of theocratic states in contemporary society
  • The role of Christianity in the modern world
  • The myth surrounding the writing of the Bible
  • The concept of religion and patriarchy: examine two religions and how it oppresses women
  • People and religion in everyday life: how lifestyle and culture is influenced by religion
  • The modern society and the changes in the religious view from the medieval period
  • The interdependence of laws and religion is a contemporary thing: what is the role of law in religion and what is the role of religion in law?
  • What marked the shift from religion to humanism?
  • What do totemism and animalism denote?
  • Pre Colonial religion in Africa is savagery and barbaric: discuss
  • Cite three religions and express their views on the human soul
  • Hinduism influenced Indian culture in ways no religion has: discuss
  • Africans are more religious than Europeans who introduced Christian religion to them: discuss
  • Account for the evolution of Confucianism and how it shaped Chinese culture to date
  • Account for the concept of the history of evolution according to Science and according to a religion and how it influences the ideas of the religious soul
  • What is religious education and how can it promote diversity or unity?7
  • Workplace and religion: how religion is extended to all facets of life
  • The concept of fear in maintaining religious authorities: how authorities in religious places inspire fear for absolute devotion
  • Afro-American religion: a study of African religion in America
  • The Bible and its role in religions
  • Religion is more of emotions than logic
  • Choose five religions of the world and study the similarities in their ideas
  • The role of religious leaders in combating global terrorism
  • Terrorism: the place of religion in promoting violence in the Middle East
  • The influence of religion in modern-day politics
  • What will the world be like without religion or religious extremists?
  • Religion in the growth of communist Russia: how cultural revolution is synonymous with religion
  • Religion in the growth of communist China: how cultural revolution is synonymous with religion
  • The study of religions and ethnic rivalries in India
  • Terrorism in Islam is a comeback to the crusades
  • The role of the Thirty Years of War in shaping world diplomacy
  • The role of the Thirty Years of War in shaping plurality in Christianity
  • The religion and the promotion of economics
  • The place of world religions on homosexuality
  • Why does a country, the Vatican City, belong to the Catholic Church?
  • God and the concept of the supernatural: examine the idea that God is a supernatural being
  • The influence of religion in contemporary Japan
  • Religion and populism in the modern world
  • The difference between mythical creatures and gods
  • Polytheism and the possibility of world peace
  • Religion and violence in secular societies?
  • Warfare and subjugation in the spread of religion
  • The policies against migrant in Poland is targeted against Islam
  • The role of international organizations in maintaining religious peace
  • International terrorist organizations and the decline of order

Research Paper Topics Religion and Society

As a student in a university or MBA student, you may be requested to write an informed paper on sociology and religion. There are many sociology religion research paper topics for these segments although they may be hard to develop. You can choose out of the following topics or rephrase them to suit your research interest:

  • The influence of religion on the understanding of morality
  • The role of religion in marginalizing the LGBTQ community
  • The role of women in religion
  • Faith crisis in Christianity and Islamic religions
  • The role of colonialism in the spreading of religion: the spread of Christianity and Islam is a mortal sin
  • How does religion shape our sexual lifestyle?
  • The concept of childhood innocence in religion
  • Religion as the object of hope for the poor: how religion is used as a tool for servitude by the elite
  • The impact of traditional beliefs in today’s secular societies
  • How religion promotes society and how it can destroy it
  • The knowledge of religion from the eyes of a sociologist
  • Religious pluralism in America: how diverse religions struggle to strive
  • Social stratification and its role in shaping religious groups in America
  • The concept of organized religion: why the belief in God is not enough to join a religious group
  • The family has the biggest influence on religious choices: examine how childhood influences the adult’s religious interests
  • Islamophobia in European societies and anti-Semitism in America
  • The views of Christianity on interfaith marriage
  • The views of Islam on interfaith marriage
  • The difference between spirituality and religion
  • The role of discipline in maintaining strict religious edicts
  • How do people tell others about their religion?
  • The features of religion in sociology
  • What are the views of Karl Marx on religion?
  • What are the views of Frederic Engels on religion?
  • Modern Islam: the conflict of pluralism and secularism
  • Choose two religions and explore their concepts of divorce
  • Governance and religion: how religion is also a tool of control
  • The changes in religious ideas with technological evolution
  • Theology is the study of God for God, not humans
  • The most feared religion: how Islamic extremists became identified as terrorist organizations
  • The role of cults in the society: why religious people still have cults affiliations
  • The concept of religious inequality in the US
  • What does religion say about sexual violence?

Religion Essay Topics

As a college student, you may be required to write an essay on religion or morality. You may need to access a lot of religious essay topics to find inspiration for a topic of your choice. Rather than go through the stress of compiling, you can get more information for better performance from religion topics for research paper like:

  • The origin of Jihad in Islam and how it has evolved
  • Compare the similarities and differences between Christian and Judaism religions
  • The Thirty Years War and the Catholic church
  • The Holocaust: historic aggression or a religious war
  • Religion is a tool of oppression from the political and economic perspectives
  • The concept of patriarchy in religion
  • Baptism and synonym to ritual sacrifice
  • The life of Jesus Christ and the themes of theology
  • The life of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and the themes of theology
  • How can religion be used to promote world peace?
  • Analyze how Jesus died and the reason for his death
  • Analyze the event of the birth of Christ
  • The betrayal of Jesus is merely to fulfill a prophecy
  • Does “prophecy” exist anywhere in religion?
  • The role of war in promoting religion: how crusades and terrorist attacks shape the modern world
  • The concept of Karma: is Karma real?
  • Who are the major theorists in religion and what do they say?
  • The connection of sociology with religion
  • Why must everyone be born again according to Christians?
  • What does religious tolerance mean?
  • What is the benefit of religion in society?
  • What do you understand about free speech and religious tolerance?
  • Why did the Church separate from the state?
  • The concept of guardian angels in religion
  • What do Islam and Christianity say about the end of the world?
  • Religion and the purpose of God for man
  • The concept of conscience in morality is overrated
  • Are there different sects in Christianity?
  • What does Islam or Christianity say about suicide?
  • What are the reasons for the Protestant Reformation?
  • The role of missionaries in propagating Christianity in Africa
  • The role of the Catholic church in shaping Christianity
  • Do we need an international religious organization to maintain international religious peace?
  • Why do people believe in miracles?

Argumentative Essay Topics on Religion

Creating argumentative essay topics on religion may be a daunting exercise regardless of your level. It is more difficult when you don’t know how to start. Your professor could be interested in your critical opinions about international issues bordering on religion, which is why you need to develop sensible topics. You can consider the following research paper topics religion and society for inspiration:

  • Religion will dominate humanity: discuss
  • All religions of the world dehumanize the woman
  • All men are slaves to religion
  • Karl Marx was right when he said religion is the return of the repressed, “the sigh of the oppressed creature”: discuss
  • Christianity declined in Europe with the Thirty Years War and it separated brothers and sisters of the Christian faith?
  • Islamic terrorism is a targeted attack on western culture
  • The danger of teen marriage in Islam is more than its benefits
  • The church should consider teen marriages for every interested teenager
  • Is faith fiction or reality?
  • The agape love is restricted to God and God’s love alone
  • God: does he exist or is he a fiction dominating the world?
  • Prayer works better without medicine: why some churches preach against the use of medicine
  • People change religion because they are confused about God: discuss
  • The church and the state should be together
  • Polygamous marriage is evil and it should be condemned by every religion
  • Cloning is abuse against God’s will
  • Religious leaders should also be political leaders
  • Abortion: a sin against God or control over your body
  • Liberty of religious association affects you negatively: discuss
  • Religious leaders only care about themselves, not the people
  • Everyone should consider agnosticism
  • Natural laws are the enemy of religion
  • It is good to have more than two faiths in a family
  • It is hard for the state to exist without religion
  • Religion as a cause of the World War One
  • Religion as a tool for capitalists
  • Religion doesn’t promote morality, only extremisms
  • Marriage: should the people or their religious leaders set the rules?
  • Why the modern church should acknowledge the LGBTQ: the fight for true liberalism
  • Mere coexistence is not religious tolerance
  • The use of candles, incense, etc. in Catholic worship is idolatrous and the same as pagan worship: discuss
  • The Christian religion is the same as Islam

Christianity Research Paper Topics on Religion

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not as you need to develop a range of topics for your essay or project. To create narrow yet all-inclusive research about Christianity in the world today, you can consider research topics online. Rather than rack your head or go through different pages on the internet, consider these:

  • Compare and contrast Christian and Islam religions
  • Trace the origin of Christianity and the similarity of the beliefs in the contemporary world
  • Account for the violent spread of Christianity during the crusades
  • Account for the state of Christianity in secular societies
  • The analysis of the knowledge of rapture in Christianity
  • Choose three contemporary issues and write the response of Christianity on them
  • The Catholic church and its role towards the continuance of sexual violence
  • The Catholic church and the issues of sexual abuse and scandals
  • The history of Christianity in America
  • The history of Christianity in Europe
  • The impact of Christianity on American slaves
  • The belief of Christianity on death, dying, and rapture
  • The study of Christianity in the medieval period
  • How Christianity influenced the western world
  • Christianity: the symbols and their meaning
  • Why catholic priests practice celibacy
  • Christianity in the Reformation Era
  • Discuss the Gnostic Gospels and their distinct historic influence on Christianity
  • The catholic church in the Third Reich of Germany
  • The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament
  • What the ten commandments say from a theological perspective
  • The unpredictable story of Moses
  • The revival of Saul to Paul: miracle or what?
  • Are there Christian cults in the contemporary world?
  • Gender differences in the Christian church: why some churches don’t allow women pastors
  • The politics of the Catholic church before the separation of the church and the state
  • The controversies around Christian religion and atheism: why many people are leaving the church
  • What is the Holy Trinity and what is its role in the church?
  • The miracles of the New Testament and its difference from the Old Testament’s
  • Why do people question the existence of God?
  • God is a spirit: discuss

Islam Research Paper Topics

As a student of the Islamic religion or a Muslim, you may be interested in research on the religion. Numerous Islam research paper topics could be critical in shaping your research paper or essay. These are easy yet profound research paper topics on religion Islam for your essays or papers:

  • Islam in the Middle East
  • Trace the origin of Islam
  • Who are the most important prophets in Islam?
  • Discuss the Sunni and other groups of Muslims
  • The Five Pillars of Islam are said to be important in Islam, why?
  • Discuss the significance of the Holy Month
  • Discuss the significance of the Holy Pilgrimage
  • The distinctions of the Five Pillars of Islam and the Ten Commandments?
  • The controversies around the hijab and the veil
  • Western states are denying Muslims: why?
  • The role of religious leaders in their advocacy of sexual abuse and violence
  • What the Quran says about rape and what does Hadiths say, too?
  • Rape: men, not the women roaming the street should be blamed
  • What is radicalism in Islam?
  • The focus of Islam is to oppress women: discuss
  • The political, social, and economic influence of modernity on Islam
  • The notable wives of prophet Muhammad and their role in Islam: discuss
  • Trace the evolution of Islam in China and the efforts of the government against them
  • Religious conflict in Palestine and Israel: how a territorial conflict slowly became a religious war
  • The study of social class and the Islamic religion
  • Suicide bombers and their belief of honor in death: the beliefs of Islamic jihadists
  • Account for the issues of marginalization of women in Muslim marriages
  • The role of literature in promoting the fundamentals of Islam: how poetry was used to appeal to a wider audience
  • The concept of feminism in Islam and why patriarchy seems to be on a steady rise
  • The importance of Hadiths in the comprehension of the Islamic religion
  • Does Islam approve of democracy?
  • Islamic terrorism and the role of religious leaders
  • The relationship of faith in Islam and Christianity: are there differences in the perspectives of faith?
  • How the Quran can be used as a tool for religious tolerance and religious intolerance
  • The study of Muslims in France: why is there religious isolation and abuse in such a society?
  • Islam and western education: what are the issues that have become relevant in recent years?
  • Is there a relationship between Islam and Science?
  • Western culture: why there are stereotypes against Muslims abroad
  • Mythology in Islam: what role does it play in shaping the religion?
  • Islam and the belief in the afterlife: are there differences between its beliefs with other religions’?
  • Why women are not allowed to take sermons in Islam

Can’t Figure Out Your Religion Paper?

With these religious research paper topics, you’re open to change the words or choose a topic of your choice for your research paper or essay. Writing an essay after finding a topic is relatively easy. Since you have helpful world religion research paper topics, research paper topics on religion and society, religion essay topics, argumentative essay topics on religion, Christianity research paper topics, and Islam research paper topics, you can go online to research different books that discuss the topic of your choice. However, if you require the assistance of professional academic experts who offer custom academic help, you’ll find them online. There are a few writing help online groups that assist in writing your essays or research paper as fast as possible. You can opt for their service if you’re too busy or unmotivated to write your research paper or essay.

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  1. Critical Research on Religion: Sage Journals

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    This paper provides a concise but comprehensive review of research on religion/spirituality (R/S) and both mental health and physical health. It is based on a systematic review of original data-based quantitative research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1872 and 2010, including a few seminal articles published since 2010.

  4. The Journal of Religion

    John V. Garner pp. 1-25 Full Text PDF Abstract Religion before the Academy: Jonathan Z. Smith, Eurocentrism, and Muslim Demarcations of Religion Jeffry R. Halverson pp. 26-44 Full Text PDF Abstract The Forgotten Proof: The Existence of God and Universal Consent Peter Harrison pp. 45-78 Full Text PDF Abstract

  5. Review of Religious Research: Sage Journals

    The Review of Religious Research (RRR) journal aims to publish manuscripts meeting these six scope criteria: (1) reports empirical research; (2) attends to religiosity and spirituality topics; (3) identifies religious groups and their adherents; … | View full journal description

  6. (PDF) Research Approaches in the Study of Religion

    Research Approaches in the Study of Religion CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Authors: Konrad Szocik Yale University Abstract Despite development of secular ideas and concepts in the Western world, we can...

  7. Spirituality, religiousness, and mental health: A review of the current

    HISTORY OF S/R IN PSYCHIATRY. The relationship between S/R and mental and physical health dates back to ancient times. However, in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, particularly in the field of psychiatry, this religious involvement was viewed as negative, and responsible for worse outcomes, such as hysteria and neurosis[3,10].This created a separation between religion and medicine, and has ...

  8. Religions

    Religions is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal on religions and theology, published monthly online by MDPI. Open Access — free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.

  9. Review of Religious Research

    The Review of Religious Research (RRR) journal aims to publish manuscripts meeting these six scope criteria: (1) reports empirical research; (2) attends to religiosity and spirituality topics; (3) identifies religious groups and their adherents; (4) engages in interdisciplinary social science research practices; (5) describes methods and analytical techniques; and (6) applies research with ...

  10. Religiosity in the major religious cultures of the world

    Comparative religious studies and previous survey research have shown that the ways in which religion is practiced, and the relevance of certain rituals and beliefs differ greatly between macro-regions of the world (Juergensmeyer 2011; Norris and Inglehart Citation 2011). In this paper, we will use the ISSP findings to point out in which ways ...

  11. Influence of religious aspects and personal beliefs on psychological

    The current paper presents literature relevant to the relationship of religiosity, spirituality, and personal beliefs with mental health and, in particular, anxiety disorders as an empirical narrative review, providing an overview on the most important and clinically relevant research results on the topic.

  12. Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review

    Religious and spiritual factors are increasingly being examined in psychiatric research. Religious beliefs and practices have long been linked to hysteria, neurosis, and psychotic delusions. ... After defining the terms religion and spirituality, this paper reviews research on the relation between religion and (or) spirituality, and mental ...

  13. Religion among Scientists in International Context:

    Her current research addresses how individuals use race, gender, and religious identities to bring changes to religious and scientific institutions. She is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, two books with Oxford University Press, a forthcoming book with NYU Press, and a forthcoming book with Oxford University Press.

  14. Religion and politics: examining the impact of faith on political

    3. The WVS questionnaire adopts an approach to religious classification based on a commonly used denominational affiliation. This approach has been criticised for concealing important variation within religious denominations that precludes meaningful interpretation of religious impacts (see, for example, Steensland et al. Citation 2000).To circumvent this problem, the WVS adapts its ...

  15. Full article: Right-Sizing Religion and Religious Engagement in

    Right-Sizing Religion and Religious Engagement in Diplomacy and Development. Drawing on a combination of academic research and practical experience, this essay explores recent policy trends at the intersection of religion and diplomacy. Framing the issue in terms of a need to "right-size" approaches to religion in foreign policy, this ...

  16. Importance of Religion and Religious Beliefs

    Importance of Religion. Three-quarters of U.S. adults say religion is at least "somewhat" important in their lives, with more than half (53%) saying it is "very" important. Approximately one-in-five say religion is "not too" (11%) or "not at all" important in their lives (11%). Although religion remains important to many ...

  17. Religious tourism studies: evolution, progress, and future prospects

    The current paper contributes to knowledge by embracing infrastructure and the activities which occur in and around religious places as a legitimate study domain. Journal articles by year of ...

  18. Volumes and issues

    The Official Journal of the Religious Research Association Publishing model Hybrid Review of Religious Research is now archived and no longer receiving submissions with this publisher. All articles published in the journal during its time with Springer will remain fully searchable through our websites. Volumes and issues

  19. Key findings about religion in India

    A new Pew Research Center report, based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 - before the COVID-19 pandemic - takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of ...

  20. Religion Research Paper

    Research Paper Examples they have their semantic origin in the Greek word which Saint Paul used in his letters, or in the Latin Whereas religion gives the framework, belief fills this framework with individual religious activities. Faith means the universal religious activity of a group of people of the same religion.

  21. How Religious Discrimination is Perceived in the Workplace: Expanding

    Between fiscal year (FY) 1992 (the first year the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began reporting such data) and FY 2020, charges of religion-based discrimination in the workplace filed with the EEOC increased by 73 percent (from 1,388 cases to 2,404) (EEOC 1997, 2021a).This growth dwarfs the changes in other sources of discrimination in the same time frame, such as sex (1.8 percent ...

  22. Philosophy of Religion Research Paper Topics

    The philosophy of religion research paper topics remains as relevant today as they were in the times of ancient philosophers. In an increasingly globalized world, where religious beliefs often intersect, clash, and coalesce, understanding the philosophy of religion becomes paramount. Whether one is a believer, agnostic, or atheist, delving into ...

  23. Reestablishing Religion by Richard Schragger, Micah Schwartzman ...

    Abstract. In the last few years, the Supreme Court has upended its doctrine of religious freedom under the First Amendment. The Court has explicitly rejected separationism, which limited government support of religion, and it has adopted interpretations of disestablishment and free exercise that provide special solicitude for religion.

  24. 215 Interesting Religion Research Paper Topics in 2022

    215 Interesting Religion Research Paper Topics in 2022 Blog » 215 Religion Research Paper Topics for College Students 215 Religion Research Paper Topics for College Students Studying religion at a college or a university may be a challenging course for any student.

  25. Sociological studies on Chinese religion since the turn of the century

    This paper reviews research on the sociology of religion in China since the beginning of the new century. In terms of theoretical research, there are three main themes: first, research focusing on C. K. Yang's sociological study on religion, especially the theories of diffused religion and institutional religion; second, the dialogue with forefront issues such as the application of and ...

  26. Alabama embryo ruling: state Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are

    In a first-of-its-kind ruling, Alabama's Supreme Court said frozen embryos are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death - a decision that puts back into ...